Camping in the Antarctic Dry Valleys is very different from a normal camping trip in the woods- no campgrounds here. We cleared an area of boulders and small rocks and then began to set up camp. We have two tents, a yellow Scott tent and a multi-colored Endurance tent. The Scott tent we are using today is basically the same tent used by the famous Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Two people sleep in the Scott tent and the third person sleeps in the Endurance tent where we cook meals and hang out at the end of the day.
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| Camp 1, located southeast of Stocking Glacier. |
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| Camp 2, located northeast of Conrow Glacier. |
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| Inside the Scott tent. Cots are on the left and right and the stove used for heat is straight ahead. |
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| Kate cooks us dinner inside the Endurance tent. We have several meals we make every week and then we have “special” meals that we’ll make every once in a while. For instance, we make spaghetti, veggie stir fry, and burritos almost every week. Our special meals include hamburgers and bagel pizzas. The food tastes delicious after spending a long day collecting samples and making measurements. After dinner we listen to music (and dance around), talk and read books before bed. To get ready for the next work day we make sure to charge any science equipment using the generator. On special occasions, such as Thanksgiving, or when it has been a tough day working we will watch a movie on one of our computers. In the evenings when we are hanging out after dinner we turn the stoves on to heat up our tents. The average temperature at Conrow Glacier has been about -6° Celsius. |
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